Blog Archives

The Bold & The Beautiful

4/21/2021

Hello! Today I am returning to one of my favorite digital stamps from Graciellie Designs called "Change is Coming." This beautiful stamp set features these bold and beautiful large butterflies that pop even more when combined with vivid alcohol ink backgrounds.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Y upo paper, I created a background using Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks in Denim and Cloudy Blue. I printed the large butterfly onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored it with Copic Markers. I fussy cut the butterfly and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment on a thin strip of white cardstock in Blue Violet ink and adhered the sentiment to the card with 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the butterfly for added sparkle.

Here is the "Change is Coming" digital stamp set from Graciellie Designs that I used to create these two cards:

Here is the second card I created using the "Change is Coming" digital stamp set and another alcohol ink background featuring a different color combination:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Y upo paper, I created a background using Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks in Lemonade, Watermelon and Orange Sunset. I die cut a large diamond from white cardstock using the Hero Arts Diamond Infinity dies. I printed the large butterfly onto Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored it with Copic Markers. I fussy cut the butterfly and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I die cut the word "beautiful" from Calypso Coral and white cardstock. I adhered the two layers of the sentiment together and then adhered both layers to the card with 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the butterfly for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed these two cards. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Bloom Book With Love

4/19/2021

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Hello and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you all found a little time to do something crafty.
Last week I shared some cards that were made using pre-created Distress Oxide ink backgrounds after I had taken an online class with Jenn Shurkus. Today's card uses another of those backgrounds, which made this card come together really quick and easy!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of the same white cardstock, I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar using the Tim Holtz Mini Round Ink Blender. Over that background I laid the Music Stencil from Newton's Nook and sponged more Picked Raspberry ink through the stencil. I removed the stencil and spritzed the paper with a little bit of water. I set this background aside to dry. Using the digital Bloom Book stamp from 88 and Clear I printed the stamp out on Neenah white cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers and then I fussy cut the flowers out. I adhered the flowers to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on a thin strip of black cardstock and then heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder. I notched the left side of the sentiment and adhered it to the top right of the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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You Make Me Smile

4/16/2021

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Hello and happy Friday! Friday's always make me smile. I hope today's card will make you smile too with it's fun sherbet-like colors and cheerful spring peonies!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Distress Heavystock paper, I watercolored the background using a small paintbrush and Distress Oxide Inks in Picked Raspberry, Carved Pumpkin and Squeezed Lemonade . I set this piece aside to dry. Using the digital Rich Peonies stamp set from 88 and Clear, I printed these digital stamps out on Neenah white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers. I used my Brother Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine to cut the images out in lieu of fussy cutting. I adhered the flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I added a little bit of linen thread in the middle of the flowers and placed the sentiment stamped in pink ink on white cardstock over the thread. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.

I hope you have a great weekend and that you find the time to do something crafty!
Thanks for visiting,

XO, Crystal

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Traveling Paris for $5!

4/14/2021

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Okay, so the title of today's post is a bit misleading. . . We are not actually traveling to Paris for $5, but you can stamp it for the low, low, price of $5! : ) The digital Traveling Paris stamp set by 88 and Clear is only $5.00 for the month of April! Plus, you can sign up to take the virtual class with owner/designer/CEO Richard Garay (RG) on Monday, April 19th, and create four cards using this fun set.

Here are two cards I created using the Traveling Paris digital stamp. If you have never used digital stamps before, I'd encourage you to read this post to help yourself become more familiar with what they are and the various ways in which you can use them.

Here is the second card I created using the Traveling Paris and Card Layer digital stamp sets:

Here is the entire Traveling Paris stamp set featuring 19 digital stamps:

April 5 for $5 Workshop

This class is a fun way to get crafty with Richard Garay and learn new techniques!

With the purchase of this class you will instantly receive the digital download in 4 different formats; PDF Outline, PDF, JPEG, and SVG as well as the YouTube link and instructions to create these projects. You can always use what you have available in your craft room. If you are not able to join us for the live you will always be able to watch the replay.

The LIVE class will be on Monday, April 19 at 10am AZ time.

Sign up today!

But, wait! There's more! Of course there is. This month you can also get this beautiful Card Layer digital stamp set FREE (with any purchase of $25 or more). It will be automatically added to your cart when you checkout.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Birch Press Design Meets Memory Box

4/12/2021

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Hello crafty readers! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing two elegant cards created by mixing products from sister companies Birch Press Design and Memory Box. As Design Team members for Birch Press Design, we are fortunate to receive some products from both companies and today I'm showing you how beautifully they compliment each together. Do YOU mix products when you create? I love to mix stamp sets, papers and dies because it allows for an infinite amount of ideas and is a great way to use more of what you own.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card was made using 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I die cut the first layer from white cardstock using Layer Plate A of the Viola Layering Plate dies. I adhered this intricate layer directly to the card base. Using the All the Happiness stamp set from Memory Box, I stamped the flowers in Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder. I die cut the flowers using the coordinating All the Happiness dies and adhered it to the lower right side of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and fussy cut the sentiment. I adhered the sentiment to the top left of the flowers.

Here is the second card that I made using the same products, but a slightly different color combination:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/2" x 4 1/2" piece of black cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. Using Layer Plate A of the Viola Layering Plates, I die cut this layer from white cardstock. I adhered this intricate layer directly over the black cardstock. Using the All the Happiness stamp set, I stamped the flowers in Versamark ink on gold foil paper. I heat embossed the image with black embossing powder and used the coordinating All the Happiness dies to die cut the flowers out. I adhered the flowers to the lower right side of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and fussy cut the sentiment. I adhered the sentiment to the top left of the flowers.

I hope you have enjoyed today's elegant black and white cards and that you can see the magic you can create when you combine products. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Just Because

4/9/2021

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Hello friends and happy Friday! On Wednesday, I mentioned that my mother and I had recently spent a weekend creating and playing with Distress Oxide inks to create backgrounds for future cards. Today's card utilizes another one of those backgrounds and I love, love, love all the blues on this card! Not only is blue my favorite color, but hydrangeas are my favorite flower, so this card makes me so happy.

Card details:

*A full supply list is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4 x 4" piece of Bristol smooth cardstock, I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in Blueprint Sketch, Faded Jeans and Stormy Sky. Once the ink dried, I layed the Newton's Nook Designs Music stencil over the ink and added Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer paste to the stencil with a spatula. I peeled off the stencil to reveal the beautiful glittery music note backgound. I let the background dry.

I die cut a white octagon and placed it on the center left of the card. The hydrangea flower is actually a digital stamp from Twinklelane Designs. I printed the flower out on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored it using Copic markers. I fussy cut the flower out and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in blue ink on white cardstock and punched it out with an oval punch. I adhered the sentiment to the left of the flower using 3M foam adhesive.

I hope you have enjoyed today's card as much as I do! Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

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You Are Wonderful

4/6/2021

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On a recent weekend visiting with my mom, we spent an entire day playing with Distress Oxide inks. We had taken an online class with Jenn Shurkus and wanted to simply play and create backgrounds only without the added pressure of making fully completed cards. The end result? We had about 20 backgrounds each to tuck away for future cards. Today's card uses one of those previuosly created backgrounds, so it made this card real quick and easy to complete.

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using a piece of Bristol Smooth paper, I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in Twisted Citron and Shabby Shutters all over the 5 1/4" x 4" piece of watercolor paper. I spritzed the paper with water to add little droplets. Then I used a stencil (sorry, I cannot recall the name or even brand of the stencil) and placed it over the background and spread Nuvo Moonstone Glitter paste to achieve that sparkly textured background. I printed out the Special and Kind digital stamp set from 88 and Clear on Neenah White cardstock and colored the images with Copic markers. I used a Scan and Cut 2 electronic cutting machine to cut the images, in lieu of fussy cutting. I adhered the images to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I added the sentiment in the lower right corner. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the sunflower images for added sparkle.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

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Butterfly Garden

4/5/2021

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Hello readers and happy Monday! If you celebrate the Easter holiday, I hope you had a blessed weekend. Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing two cards in bright spring-like colors made using the Butterfly Garden Layering Plates. You can see two other cards I made using this same set here.

I am so in love with these beautiful layering dies and while while one layer is enough to make an impact, all three layers together is really stunning, especially when you add in a middle layer of glitter cardstock.

Here is a step-by-step instructional video so you can see how both of these cards were made:

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Easter Treat Boxes

4/2/2021

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Happy Good Friday, friends! Today I am sharing two simple treat boxes that I created for Easter, though you could change them up to work for any holiday or event. These boxes would be perfect for a small amount of candy, gift cards, jewelry or other little trinkets. They measure approximately
4" x 3" x 2" and were made using the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Treat Box and the digital "Oh La La" stamp set from 88 and Clear.

Project Details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

To begin, I printed the digital "Oh La La" stamp set onto 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored the images with Copic markers. I used my Brother Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine to electronically cut the images out (in lieu of fussy cutting). One treat box was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and the other was made from Cotton Candy cardstock. I adhered the boxes together with red line tape for added strength. I embellished the boxes with strips of cardstock, patterned scalloped circles and gingham ribbon. I stuffed a little piece of green tissue paper in the box and filled them with Peanut M & M's.

Happy Easter! I hope you have wonderful holiday weekend!

XO, Crystal

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XO, Crystal ​

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XO, Crystal

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XO, Crystal

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April 5 for $5 Workshop

XO, Crystal

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XO, Crystal

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XO, Crystal

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Card details:

XO, Crystal

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XO, Crystal

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XO, Crystal

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Hi, I'm Crystal!

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XO, Crystal